Pedro Henrique Resende Santos makes his international debut at the U19 World Championships

Porto, Portugal, July 8, 2013 – Just a few days after Brazil’s 38-year old Ricardo Santos won the silver medal at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Stare Jablonki, his 16-year old son will make his international debut.

Pedro Henrique Resende Santos will compete at the U19 World Championships in Porto from July 11-14.

The event in Portugal is the third and final FIVB age group tournament this year after the U23 World Championships in Myslowice, Poland, and the U21 in Umag, Croatia, in June.

Around 80 teams from over 30 different countries will compete in the beach stadium in the Portuguese coastal town.
Poland favourite in the women’s competition

In the women’s competition Poland’s Katarzyna Kociolek and Jagoda Gruszczynska are likely candidates for the title, since they won the gold medal at the U21 in Umag just a few weeks ago.

Also competing in Portugal is the 2011 and 2012 U21 world champion Nina Betschart from Switzerland and 14-year old Eduarda Santos Lisboa who won silver at the U23 in Myslowice this year.

The 12th edition of the U19 World Championships starts on Wednesday with the qualification tournament. In the main draw 32 teams divided over eight pools, each playing a round robin.

The elimination phase begins on Friday, with the semifinals and medal matches scheduled for Sunday.

Porto, the second largest city in Portugal, hosted the U19 World Championships once before, in 2010. Portugal also staged 13 men’s and nine women’s FIVB World Tour stops in Espinho.